Thomas Baron
Thomas Ronald "Tom" Baron (c. 1938 – April 27, 1967)[1] was a quality control and safety inspector for North American Aviation (NAA), when NAA was the primary contractor to build the Apollo command module.[2]
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Baron was born in or around 1938, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[3] He attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[3]
Career
[edit | edit source]Baron initially enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida.[3] He was later hired as a quality control inspector with North American Aviation, the prime NASA contractor for construction of the Apollo spaceship.[3]
Whistleblower report
[edit | edit source]Baron compiled a 169-page report critical of safety standards at North American Aviation, and leaked his report to the media.[4] After NAA learned of this, they fired him.
After the Apollo 1 fire, Baron wrote a 275-page report on NASA safety protocol violations, which he gave to Rep. Olin E. Teague's investigation at Cape Kennedy in Florida, on April 21, 1967.[5]
The chairman of the NASA Oversight Committee claimed that Baron had made a valuable contribution to the Apollo fire probe, but that he had been "overzealous".[6]
Death
[edit | edit source]Six days after his testimony, Baron was killed instantly, along with his wife and stepdaughter, when a train crashed into their car near their home in Mims, Florida.[1][7][8]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Daytona Beach Morning Journal, May 4, 1967.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "Shuttle Workers Say They Are Afraid to Talk About Challenger", Orlando Sentinel, July 23, 2021